Doing Stylistic Versus Critical Stylistic: An Analysis of If by Rudyard Kipling Suadad Fadhil Kadhum Al-Janabi

Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 12. Number1. March 2021 Pp.
239-252
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no1.17
Doing Stylistic Versus Critical Stylistic: An Analysis of If by Rudyard Kipling
Suadad Fadhil Kadhum Al-Janabi

Department of English Language, College of Languages
University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Correspondent soadod.kadhem@colang.uobaghdad.edu.iq
Nawar Hussein Rdhaiwi Al-Marsumi

Department of English Language, College of Languages
University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Received: 9/27/2020 Accepted: 2/4/2021 Published: 3/24/2021
Abstract
This paper displays the ideological positioning as found in Rudyard Kipling’s poem If. It is a
poem published in 1910. It presents the embedded ideologies and shows how the poet used the
available linguistic resources to achieve his goal. The models of analysis adopted are Critical
Stylistics as proposed by Lesley Jeffries (2010) and Stylistic Analysis as submitted by McIntyre
(2010). The paper aims at identifying the poet's beliefs to show that success is the outcome of
self-control and a real sense of the values of things. It is a try to discover how the poet used
various linguistic choices to build a message telling us how to deal with life confidently and
identify a line of ideological positioning through Critical Stylistic strategies. The paper presents a
theoretical background of the term stylistics and critical stylistics, explaining the adopted
models; Analyzing the poem stylistically with a focus on critical stylistic regarding two tools:
Representing and Negating for their dominant use in the poem and their effectiveness in
interpreting the hidden ideologies. Stylistic devices are used because they steer the text to enable
the writer to reach the intended goal. In conclusion, the paper displays that the poet uses the
stylistic tools in a brilliant way that leads All, not only his son, to follow and consider it a moral
lesson of life.
Keywords: critical stylistic analysis, stylistics, Rudyard Kipling poem If, material actions, mental
processes, verbalization
Cite as: Al-Janabi, S.F.K., & Al-Marsumi , R.H.R.(2021). Doing Stylistic Versus Critical
Stylistic: An Analysis of If by Rudyard Kipling. Arab World English Journal, 12 (1) 239-252.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no1.17
239
Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 12. Number 1. March 2021
Doing Stylistic Versus Critical Stylistic: An Analysis of If Al-Janabi & Al-Marsumi
Introduction
Every time a language is used, the writer or the speaker needs to adopt a particular style.
Language is considered a fundamental tool for communication that can effectively achieve
specific goals to reach the desired influence. The user of the language can select from a series of
stylistic possibilities according to the aim of the speech, poem, essay, etc. The poem gains its
impact from the specific style which the poet uses to deliver what he/she wants to convey since
stylistics is concerned with exploring language and specifically exploring creativity in language
use. Accordingly, stylistics has its principal aim to observe the prospective expressive energies in
a language, not in a person.
Selecting specific stylistic devices to convey a message is powerfully manifested in literary

works and, most specifically, in literature. The didactic poem If has a special privilege over all
kinds of poetry for its veracity. It reflects proof of dignified morals. This kind of poetry is the
most genuine and authentic sort of poetry because it comes from the human soul depths and
mind. The poet tries to express his feelings or give entertainment and teach or give instructions
about a specific case. Thus, this study explores the language of didactic poetry in English
stylistically at two levels: negation and representation. It displays and identifies the poet beliefs
to make it clear that success results from self-control and a real sense of things' values. It
manifests how the poet used various linguistic choices to build a message of life.
Literature Review
Style and Stylistics
Style is a choice of linguistic means. Every writer makes choices to put things of
expression, and there in the choices, the style resides. Supporting this idea, style is viewed by
Haynes (2006) as "a matter of the careful choice of exactly the right word phrase, le mot juste"(p.
2). Verdonk 2002 stated that language style could also be "a set of conscious or unconscious
choices of expression, inspired or included by a particular context” (p. 3). Abrams (1999)
displayed style to show how writers and speakers used certain linguistic expressions to convey
whatever they want to say. All the definitions of style can cover the term stylistics. Thus, the
most common definition of stylistics, found in dictionaries, is 'the study of style.' However,
according to Spencer (1998), stylistics signifies exploiting linguistics as a tool for literary
criticism to search and inspect the aesthetic effect of language in a broad sense and style in a
specific sense.
Nevertheless, this view is somehow vague and challenged. Simpson (2004) states that
stylistics is "a method of textual interpretation in which primacy of place is assigned to
language” (p. 2). Whereas, Scott (2013) mentions that stylistics is an academic discipline
between language and literary studies. It investigates the readers' interactive behavior with the
style of texts to show how the text is understood and how the readers are affected by the texts
when they read them. Verdonk (2002) states that stylistics is "the analysis of distinctive
expressions in language and the description of their purposes and effects” (p. 3). In conclusion,
stylistics aims to study the style of language usage in different contexts, either linguistic or
situational, and to provide a detailed description of the work in question.
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Critical Stylistics
Critical stylistics is a term that refers to the stylistic activity used in the methods in which
social meanings are verified through language. This stylistic tendency is conducted by critical
linguistics and CD (Norgaard, Busse, & Montoro, 2010). Critical Stylistics is assigned to Lesley
Jeffries' work, which is based on work in CDA, which uses different analysis methods to display
the link between language, power, and ideology (Evans & Schuller, 2015). Moreover, the term
Critical Stylistics was first used by Jeffries (2007). Critical stylistics sets the objective of
combining the powers and advantages of stylistics and CDA to show the way writers insert their
ideologies with the other social concepts into their writing. Coffey (2013) pinpoints that Critical
Stylistics attempts to connect CDA and stylistics. CDA is applied to show how language is
involved in social relations of power and domination. Stylistics, which is 'the study of style,'
deals with analyzing 'literary language' to display the connection between language and artistic
fiction.
Jeffries (2010) shows that Critical Stylistics is used to "assemble the main general function
that a text has in representing realities” (p. 14). She adds that Critical Stylistics provides several
tools, which are assumed to be more comprehensive than any other work in CDA. Lesley Jeffries
published her book Critical Stylistics in 2010, integrating CDA and stylistics with a particular
emphasis, as Dopar (2015) states, on the actual linguistic manifestation of social meaning and the
needed analysis tools, which is called textual conceptual functions. Moreover, Jeffries (2010)
asserts that 'textual conceptual functions' are used to display the implicit ideologies produced by
linguistic choices.
Critical statisticians utilize the linguistic features that are described in many semantic-
grammatical theories and models as analytical tools, as Jeffries (2010) shows “for the different
methods in which texts allow/ ask us to conceptualize the topics they are addressing and to
provide some means of accessing this representational practice” (p. 14).
Differences between Critical Stylistics and Critical Discourse Analysis

CDA lacks a comprehensive, complete account of tools for the analyst to utilize. In contrast,
critical stylistics, in turn, has a systemic analytical model that incorporates tools from stylistics
and critical linguistics to display "linguistic choices of text producers and their possible
ideological motifs and implications" (Coffey, 2013, p. 30).
Jeffries (2010) asserts that Critical Linguistics and CDA do not present an analysis framework
that shows the texts' hidden ideologies. Therefore, she offers ten analytical tools to examine
textual ideology. These tools resemble the eclectic model of tools that were created by scholars
as Fowler (1991), Simpson (1993), and Fairclough (1989).
Critical stylistics deals with uncovering the texts' underlying ideology manifesting how
language is used to apply particular ideologies through literary or non-literary texts without
considering the outside circumstances (Jeffries, 2014). CDA deals with the social, historical,
visual texts putting the external circumstances at the core of the analysis. Jeffries realizes that
stylistics analysis is being useful and insightful in the same way when the data was non-fiction
and when literary. (Jeffries, 2014)

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Critical stylistics shows that all texts are ideologically influenced consciously or
unconsciously (Olaluwoye, 2015). It offers a set of analytical tools that help the analyst shed
light on the texts' hidden ideologies in an objective way.
Jeffries (2016) coincides with Fowler's (1966) definition of ideology as she put up with that
ideology is prevalent in texts and reflects the principles of credibility in a particular community
or group. Besides, Jeffries (2010) defines ideology as "those ideas that are shared by a
community or society […]are an essential aspect of the world that we live in, and they are, of
course, communicated, reproduced, constructed and negotiated through language"
(p.5).
Methods
The Adopted Models
Rudyard Kipling If is the title of the poem under analysis. Rudyard Kipling was born in 1865
in India. He was John Lockwood Kipling's bright son, who is a teacher of English art. His
mother was Scottish. Kipling spent the best six years of his early life in India. In 1871 his mother
sent him to England, where he lived with a foster family. This situation, which makes him live a
complicated life, has a significant impact on him, and could not hinder his innovation. His poem
"if" is a didactic poem. It delivers a life lesson. The poet, who is the speaker in this poem, gives
his son instructions concerning whatever he can do and can not do overtime to be a man. It is
considered a lesson about crucial things in life. He teaches his son the matters in life that worth
fighting for. He teaches his son how to be self-controlled and how to become a winner. It is a
lesson not only to his son but a lesson to ALL through his son.
The models adopted for analysis are: Firstly, The stylistic analysis model as proposed by
McIntyre (2010); Secondly, the analytical model proposed by Jeffries (2010) which consists of
ten tools and I chose two tools to be adopted which are: Representing( Actions /Events/States)
and Negating for their dominant use in the poem and their effectiveness in interpreting the
hidden ideologies.
McIntyre’s Model (2010)

In his article, McIntyre (2010) demonstrates that stylistics aims to illuminate how the words
of specific text generate the feelings and responses that the reader gets from these selected words
when reading them. His model of analysis is based on some procedures. The procedures adopted
by McIntyre (2010) are as follows: 1. Looking at the chosen poem. This step gives a general
description of the poem. It focuses on the striking irregularities of forms like lack of
capitalization, the strange use of punctuation, and the odd structure of particular phrases. 2.
Examining the lexical features. In this step, McIntyre concentrates on the open class words
showing how they are distributed throughout the poem and whether they are nouns, verbs,
adjectives, or adverbs. 3. Breaking down the open classes into some essential semantic areas. In
this step, each part of speech within the semantic areas are to be examined according to their
numbers to understand the reasons behind the differences between them. 4. Pointing out the
unusual word and the neologism. 5. Studying the existence of the foregrounded aspects in the
repetition, deviation, and parallelism.

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Jeffries’s Model (2010)

The following is a survey of the tenth tools that Jeffries’ model has:
Naming and Describing

Naming indicates the choices of a noun that may be used to denote the same entity. It can be
done directly by choosing nouns from the available alternates, using certain modifications to
describe that referent within the noun phrase domain, and using nominalization in specific
contexts that can be expressed using verbs. The above mentioned are essential methods that can
invent ideological meaning in the text.
Representing Actions/Events/States
Jeffries (2010) uses this tool to display how the speaker or writer expresses the event in terms
of actions, events, and states. It deals with the noun phrase semantic function according to the
verbal elements.
Equating and Contrasting

This tool's debate is that all texts can create new synonyms and antonyms between words,
phrases or clauses, or the whole paragraphs. It concerns with how the world is structured in the
texts in terms of both equation and opposition. The semantic relations that are textually
constructed refer to similarities and differences of meaning.
Exemplifying and Enumerating

The choice of using exemplification or enumeration in specific text relies on pragmatic
inferencing. It is used to decide which one is more relevant than the other in a given case. This
case happens because there is no linguistic difference in functions between them.
Prioritizing
The syntactic opportunities of prioritizing certain information over the other rely on the fact
that while structuring the sentence of the language, in specific structures, we put the essential
information at the beginning as in fronting through the transformational process and in other
structure we put the prioritizing information in the final position as insubordination as the main
obligatory clause bears the most critical information.
Implying and Assuming

This tool is mainly concerned with pragmatics as the latter deals with the implicitly in the
language. The utilization of assumptions and implications to give common sense to the
ideologies is called naturalization. It is a method of vital importance that can influence people's
viewpoints.
Negating
It is used In a general term to deal with the conceptual practice rather than the verb negative
form. It helps the speaker produce a hypothetical version of reality. It has the power of a
persuasive kind. It can be a negative power or a positive one. Such constructions create
implicatures about the other realities that may occur by disregarding the Gricean maxim of
quantity.

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Hypothesizing
The hypothetical reality in the text can be manifested by using modality. Halliday (1994)
believes that the language's interpersonal metafunctions can be expressed by using the modal
system. However, Jeffries assumes that modality is ideational according to the conceptual
meaning that it has. It can show the different ways of influence on the reader or hearer (Jeffries,
2016).
Presenting Others' Speech and Thought

This tool presented others' words and thought through direct and indirect speech and
according to the textual function (Jeffries, 2016).
Representing Time, Space and Society

It shows the moment, place, audience, and context of the text displayed through the linguistic
realization. The use of deixis within the text becomes more sensitive to textual ideology (Jeffries,
2016).
Stylistic Analysis
Looking at the Chosen Poem
Using stylistic tools to analyze particular text doesn't resemble a literary analysis. Literary
analysis is less objective and rooted than stylistic analysis. Stylistic analysis displays how the
chosen linguistic elements construct the intended semantic goal to get the readers' desired
reactions. The poem If is typical of Rudyard's style. It consists of 30 lines. For example, one
notices the excessive use of If clause with no independent (main) clause as if it reflects one
sentence length. The independent clause appears at the end of the poem, in the last two lines. The
poem is full of instructions in the form of conditions full of negative and imperative forms. The
poet uses such constructions to steer the readers' intention to read the whole poem to see if he/she
fulfills all these conditions, what will happen. If at the beginning of sequential sentences is to stir
emotion and unify separate sentences into a cohesive whole.
Examining the lexical Categories

McIntyre 2010 concentrates on the open class words showing how they are distributed
throughout the poem within the limit of their major categories.
Table 1. Distribution of open class words ( Content Words) in the poem If

Nouns (line No.) Verbs (line No.) Adverbs Adjectives (line No.)
Men (3) Keep your head (1) Tired (5)
Allowance (4) Losing , Blaming (2) Good, wise (8)
doubting (4) Trust, Doubt (3) worn-out(16)
Lies (6) Make (4)
Hating(7) Wait, Waiting (5)
Dreams, master (8) Lied, Deal (6)
Thoughts, aim(10) Hated, give (7)
Aim (10) Look, talk (8)
Triumph, disaster (11) Dream, make (9)
Impostors(12) Think, make(10)
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Truth(13) Meet (11)

Knaves, trap, fools(14) Treat(12)
Things, life (15) Bear, hear (13)
Tools(16) Twisted, make (14)
Heap, winnings (17) Watch, gave, broken(15)
Turn, pitch, toss (18) Stoop, build (16)
Beginnings(19) Make(17)
Word, loss(20) Risk (18)
Heart, nerve,sinew(21) Lose, start (19)
Turn(22) Breathe (20)
Will (24) Force(21)
Crowds, virtue(25) Serve, gone (22)
King, touch(26) Hold on (23)
Foes, loving, friends (27) Says, hold on(24)
Men(28) Talk, keep (25)
Earth(29) Walk, lose(26)
Man, son (30) Hurt (27)
Count (28)
Be (30)
44 47 0 4
46.315% 49.473% 0% 4.210
The total number of content words used in the poem is (95). The high number (47) and the
frequency rate (49.473%) of verbs indicate that the poem or the poem's instructions need actions
that are strictly required to achieve the triumph. The number of nouns (44) and the frequency rate
(46.315) seem to be close to rate of the verbs used in the poems. Such a rate of nouns indicates
that the poem is an excellent example of stability.
There is no adverb mentioned in the poem, which indicates that this is a real lesson for ALL
without considering the place or time. It is a lesson of how to grow up and become a man no
matter where or when the given instructions should be fulfilled. Only four adjectives are used
with a rate of (4.210). This rate indicates that the poem is not a descriptive one.
Breaking down the Open Classes into some Basic Semantic Areas
Table 2. A Breakdown of nouns in the poem

Total Concrete nouns Abstract nouns Nouns indicate Nouns indicate
triumph disasters
Number 44 20 24 16 12
% 100 45.454 54.545 36.363 27.272
Nouns in the selected poem are analyzed within five rough areas of the semantic field.
Concrete and abstract nouns are (20) and (24) respectively, and with frequency rates of (45.454)
and (54.545) respectively are distributed in the poem. The relatively similar rate of both nouns
refers to the everlasting relation between concrete or material and what is abstract or untouchable
in humans' lives. The numbers of nouns that refer to triumph, disasters and that are neutral as for
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the theme of triumph and disasters (16), (12) and (16) respectively and with frequency rates of
(36.363), (27.272), and (36.363) respectively are distributed in the poem in such a way that
shows how the theme of triumph and disaster affects the poet's inspiration to draw the lines of
instructions.
Table 3. A breakdown of verbs in the poem
Semantic areas No. %
Total verbs 47 100
Transitive verbs 31 65.957
Intransitive verbs 16 34.042
Stative verbs 16 34.042
Dynamic verbs 31 65.957
Verbs with a human agent 46 97.872
Verbs with a non-human agent 1 2.127
Passive voice 1 2.127
Active voice 46 97.872
Rudyard Kipling uses transitive verbs (31) times with a frequency rate of (65.957%)
while there are only (16) intransitive verbs that show the frequency rate of (34.042%). He uses
verbs like lose, trust, give, keep, hurt, count, say, etc. This displays that the poet is stable to
incorporate all the details that can be achieved by using these verbs. The highest number and
frequency rate of dynamic verbs over stative verbs is (31) times with a frequency rate of
(65.957%), which is a typical result of the continuous actions that the poet asks (YOU) to fulfill
to be successful mankind. Only one passive verb and all others are active, i.e., 97.872 % are
active to express Rudyard Kipling's desire to make the doer of his verbs clear.
Table 4. A Breakdown of adjectives in the poem

Semantic areas No. %
Total adjectives 4 100
Predicative adjective 3 75
Attributive adjective 1 25
Because the poem is not a descriptive one, the poet uses very few adjectives, but out of
four adjectives, 75% are predicative adjectives. Such adjectives modify the subject, who is the
doer of the action, and the whole poem.
Pointing out the Unusual Word and the Neologism

All words that are used by the Rudyard are ordinary words which can be roughly divided into
some semantic fields; triumph, disaster, and characters. From the field of triumph come the
words winnings, triumph, trust yourself, look good, and virtue. From the disaster field come the
words; disaster, trap, pitch, toss, loss, lies, hating, and hurt. From the characters' field come the
words; men, masters, imposters, knaves, king, friends, and son.
Studying the Existence of the Foregrounded Aspects in the Repetition, Parallelism, and
Deviation
Table 5. Instances of foregrounding in If
Total Repetition Parallelism Deviation
No. % No. % No. % No. %
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91 100 70 76.923 11 12.087 10 10.989

Repetition takes the highest rate with its total number of (70) instances. The poet intentionally
repeats the pronoun "you" (18) times and "if" (14) times to express the conditions that "YOU"
must follow to be a Man. The auxiliary verb" can" is repeated (10) times. The pronoun "your" is
repeated (9) times. The negative particle "not" is repeated (6) times. The verb "make" is repeated
(4) times. The relative pronoun "when" is repeated (3) times. The words "dream," "hate," and
"hold on" are repeated (2) times equally. Rudyard uses parallelism throughout the poem several
times as he uses the construction "If you can…"(11) times to show suspense concerning the
conditions that bear the spirit of advice. He intentionally delays the response to the condition till
the end of the poem, as the poet displays the consequences that come up after fulfilling these
conditions. Besides, such parallelism adds a rhythmical feeling to the poem. All instances of
deviation are ( 10 ) with their frequency rate ( 10.989 ). Within the area of semantic deviation
comes Personification; as seen in the poem, this kind of figure of speech can be seen in 4 places.
In the second stanza, the poet personifies "dreams" to be just like "masters" who can control our
lives. Besides, in the second stanza, too, Rudyard personifies "success" as " triumph" and
"failure" as "Disaster." In the third stanza, Rudyard personifies" will" as a person; Metaphor: In
the first stanza, Rudyard uses "impostors" to refer to "triumph and disaster." And "worn-out
tools" is used in the third stanza to refer to feeling; and Symbolism: The poet uses some words to
symbolize people such as "knaves" is used to represent "liars"; " crowds" indicates "people";
"kings" refers to significant people, and "common touch" stands for humility.
Critical Stylistic Analysis

Representing Actions/Events/States
It considers the textual- conceptual function that signifies the choice of transitivity. It
demonstrates the noun phrase semantic function regarding verbal elements. It shows how the
situation is expressed by the writer or the speaker accordıng to events, states, or actions and who
bears the responsibility for the resulted action (Jeffnes, 2016). His tool refers to Halliday's (1985)
and Simpson's Model (1993), which is based on Halliday's work. The model is used to describe
predicators' choices in a particular text and its effects. It concerns the meaning level associated
with the verbal clause part and submits information on the action, event, and states. Jeffries
(2010) displays the transitivity model categorization:
1- Material Action Processes represent the main category. They are the processes of doing in the
physical world. It involves two participants. One of them is the actor, who is the doer of the
action. It is an obligatory participant. The second participant is the goal, which is an optional
participant. It expresses the person or entity, whether animate or inanimate, affected by the
process. The subcategories reflects Intention, Supervention, Event (Simpson,1993).
2- Verbalization Processes represent the main category. They are the processes of "saying"
covers any kind of symbolic exchange of meaning. A verbal process contains three participants:
Sayer, Verbiage, and Receiver. Te Sayer is the participant responsible for the verbal process. The
Verbiage is a normalized statement of the verbal process. The Receiver is the one to whom the
verbal process is directed (Eggins, 2004). This type of process includes verbs like tell, promise,
suggest, announce, inform, etc.

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3- Mental Cognition Process is called the process of sensing. It is the process of feeling,
thinking, and receiving. Simpson (1993) labels this process as an internalized process compared
to the externalized processes of doing and speaking. The mental process involves two
participants: the sensor and the phenomenon. The sensor reflects the conscious being that is
feeling, thinking, or seeing. The phenomenon demonstrates what is sensed- felt, thought, or seen
(Eggins, 1994; Halliday,1985).
Mental process verbs are subcategorized by Halliday (1994) into three types: Cognition,
Affection, and Perception. Cognition can be manifested through verbs of thinking, knowing, and
understanding; Affection is reflected by verbs of liking, hating, loving, and fearing; and
Perception contains verbs of seeing and hearing.
4- Relational Processes are called the processes of being, which can be realized by the verb "be"
and other copular verbs like seem, appear, become, and verbs as own, possess and have.
Relational processes involve two participants: Carrier and Attribute. Carrier refers to the entity
which carries the attribute, while attribute refers to that which qualifies the entity. They can be
subcategorized into three categories: Intensive, Possessive, circumstantial.
Table 7. Classifications and frequencies of verbalization processes

Process Sayer Verbiage
blaming (2) All Theirs
lied (6) about you
spoken (13) You the truth
Total: 3 2
Table 8. Classifications and frequencies of mental Cognition process

Verb (line No.) Subcategory Sensor Phenomenon
trust (3) reaction you Yourself
doubt(3) reaction you You
hated(7) reaction you all
look (8) perception you too good
dearm(9) Cognition you
think(10) Cognition you
bear (13) Reaction you to hear the truth
hear(13) Perception you the truth
hurt (27) Reaction you
Total: 9 5 reaction/ 2 perception 9 you
2 cognition
Table 9. Classifications and frequencies of relational processes

Verb (line No.) Subcategory Carrier Attribute
is (31) Yours the earth
be(32) You Man
Total :2

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The participants' prominent roles are Actor and Goal, and whether the process is
controlled and done towards the goal. According to the transitivity model, the statistical
outcomes of the data classification show that the most used actions are of intentionality
subcategories (93,10%). "You" is significantly involved as an actor (70%) in the material
processes. "you" is his son who is directed towards the goal which controls the actions. Besides,
"You" is involved in a high percentage (24%) as a sensor in the mental cognition process. The
poem reflects instructions that tell how to be a good human being by adopting certain behaviors.
The poem is devoted to "you," addressing his son directly and human being indirectly. "YOU"
has to accomplish all the conditions and requirements that the poet states through the use of
intentional material action processes along with the mental processes and through which the
actor is directed towards the mentioned goal. Moreover, the poet uses these kinds of verbs to
encode the reality in such a way that it seems that he reflects his experience of the world around
in order to deliver a lesson to”YOU". Thus, it is manifested that actions that are considered
conditions to be successful a good human being have to be accomplished intentionally by the
actor or the doer of the action or what the poet called "You."
Negating
To enhance the aimed ideology, the poet uses negation to build a non- existing world in the
mind of "you" in such a way that helps to create specific desire, fear, or belief. It can be achieved
by using sets of triggers. Thus, negating a clause is gained through the use of negative particles,
whereas negating a word is achieved through morphological, semantic, and pragmatic processes
Table 10. Types of negative forms

Syntactically Pronoun Morphologically Lexically
not be (5) nothing(23) unforgiving(29) lose(2)
don’t deal(6) none(28) hated(7)
don’t give(7) broken(15)
don’t look(8) lose(19)
not make(9) hurt(27)
not make (10) never (6)
nor lose(26)
Neither for…. nor loving(27)
The poem is full of negative sentences in the main conditional clause in form of order. The poet
delivers his didactic message in a very negative manner. All instructions are devoted to things
that one doesn't have to do, or it is better not to do or never do, to achieve a successful life
instead of giving positive instructions. The poet makes "You" fears to do these forbidden things
or behaviors. He makes him imagine the other reality that stands behind the negative action.
Negating is used to denote a mental activity more significant than the direct negation of a verb.
This concerns its pragmatic force, which is used to render the addressee "You" conscious of
situations that occurs if the opposite happens. The importance of the textual practice of negation
in this poem makes the addressee built a virtual version of reality even though it is imaginary.
Besides, it let the reader imagine the hypothetical situation to the degree that it may have a
persuasive power, which should be positive according to this poem.

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Conclusion
`Stylistic tools are used to show that the poem recalls actions, and the emphasis is put on the
"You" to refer to ALL. The poet uses certain stylistic elements to reach his intended semantic
goal and affect the reader. The poet uses the content words relying mainly on the nouns and
verbs with no adverb just to reflect that these instructions are not for the time being. They are set
for all times. Besides, the poet uses particular poetic foregrounding such as repetition, especially
when repeated the words If and “you” several times with parallelism and deviation just to direct
the reader to the conditions that imply the instructions and recognize the gift that the reader may
get if he/she fulfill these conditions.
Critical stylistic devices steer the text in such a way that let the writer or producer reaches the
set goal. The use of transitivity to promote the ideational function in the text. The poet uses two
kinds of lexical verbs (intentional material action and mental process) significantly. The poet
succeeded in setting his embedded ideology through this choice. He used these verbs to make
"You" the addressee realized that he/she should follow and do all the mentioned guidelines to
have a good life even though they are not compulsory. The port makes the addressee realize and
imagine the other world that he/she might have through the use of negation. The poet uses the
mentioned tools in a very clever way that leads All not only his son "You" to follow and consider
it a moral lesson of life.
About the Authors;

Suadad Fadhil Kadhum holds a Master of Arts degree in English Language and Linguistics
from the University of Baghdad, College of Languages. I am an Assistant Professor in the
department of English at the College of Languages, and I have been teaching at the university
since 1999. I published several papers concerning my major. My research interest is discourse,
pragmatics, stylistics, and cognitive issues.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1600-057X
Nawar Hussein Al-Marsumi is an Assistant Professor, holding the Master of Arts degree in
English Language and Linguistics obtained from the University of Baghdad, College of
Education- Ibn Rushd. Since 1999, I have been working at Baghdad University as a teaching
member in the Department of English. My major is the English language and linguistics, and I
published several papers in contrastive studies, stylistics and pragmatics.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3918-5984
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Appendices
Appendix A
Table 6. Classifications and frequencies of material action processes
Verb (line No.) Subcategory Actor Goal
keep (1) Intention You your head
losing (2) Intention All Theirs
make allowance(4) Intention You their doubt
wait (5) Intention You
give(7) Intention You Way
talk(8) Intention You Wise
meet (11) Intention You triumph and disaster
treat(12) Intention You those impostors
twisted (14) Event Knaves You
watch (15) Intention You Things
gave( 15) Intention You your life
broken(15) Intention You Things
stoop(16) Intention You Things

ISSN: 2229-9327
build up(16) Intention You Things

make(17) Intention You Heap
risk (18) Intention You your winnings
lose(19) Intention You your winnings
start (19) Intention You
breathe (20) Intention You a word
serve (22) Intention You your turn
gone(22) Event heart and nerve and sinew
hold on (23) Intention You
says (24) Intention Will Them
hold on (24) Intention Will Them
talk(25) Intention You Crowd
walk(26) Intention You King
lose (26) Intention You common touch
count(28) Intention all men You
fill(29) Intention You unforgiving minutes
Total: 29 27 intention 23 you
2 event 6 variable
Appendix B
If by Rudyard Kipling
IF you can keep your head when all about Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
you, If you can make one heap of all your winnings
But make allowance for their doubting too; And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, And lose, and start again at your beginnings
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, And never breathe a word about your loss;
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
8And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too To serve your turn long after they are gone,
wise: And so hold on when there is nothing in you
if you can dream — and not make dreams Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
your master; If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
If you can think — and not make thoughts ‘ Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common
your aim; touch,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
And treat those two impostors just the same; If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve If you can fill the unforgiving minute
spoken With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!

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Doing Stylistic Versus Critical Stylistic: An Analysis of If by Rudyard Kipling Suadad Fadhil Kadhum Al-Janabi

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Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 12. Number1. March 2021 Pp.

Doing Stylistic Versus Critical Stylistic: An Analysis of If by Rudyard Kipling

Suadad Fadhil Kadhum Al-Janabi

Nawar Hussein Rdhaiwi Al-Marsumi

Received: 9/27/2020 Accepted: 2/4/2021 Published: 3/24/2021

Selecting specific stylistic devices to convey a message is powerfully manifested in literary

Arab World English Journal www.awej.org 240

Differences between Critical Stylistics and Critical Discourse Analysis

Arab World English Journal www.awej.org 241

McIntyre’s Model (2010)

Arab World English Journal www.awej.org 242

Jeffries’s Model (2010)

Naming and Describing

Equating and Contrasting

Exemplifying and Enumerating

Implying and Assuming

Arab World English Journal www.awej.org 243

Presenting Others' Speech and Thought

Representing Time, Space and Society

Examining the lexical Categories

Table 1. Distribution of open class words ( Content Words) in the poem If

Truth(13) Meet (11)

Table 2. A Breakdown of nouns in the poem

Table 4. A Breakdown of adjectives in the poem

Pointing out the Unusual Word and the Neologism

91 100 70 76.923 11 12.087 10 10.989

Critical Stylistic Analysis

Arab World English Journal www.awej.org 247

Table 7. Classifications and frequencies of verbalization processes

Table 8. Classifications and frequencies of mental Cognition process

Table 9. Classifications and frequencies of relational processes

Arab World English Journal www.awej.org 248

Table 10. Types of negative forms

Arab World English Journal www.awej.org 249

About the Authors;

Conflict, 3(1), 128-150

Arab World English Journal www.awej.org 251

build up(16) Intention You Things

Arab World English Journal www.awej.org 252

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